Granada Information: THE
GENERALIFE |
Although the Generalife is now joined to the Alhambra, in the Nasrid
era a strip of land separated the two palaces. Built on the hill known
as the Cerro del Sol, it was used for a mixture of cattle grazing,
produce farming, garden and living area. With certain obvious differences,
this type of residence still survives in Granada's traditional carmen
houses, which are made up of two terraces, the lower one divided into
two square courtyards.
The Patio de la Acequia, which is crossed by the acequia real or royal
irrigation channel, has an elongated rectangular layout. The south
portico "has been completely rebuilt and falsified". On
the north side, only the lower floor is Nasrid, with a five-arch portico
that leads into a rectangular layout with rooms on the sides. At the
end stands a high vantage-point, with a decorated interior room, dating
from the time of Ismail (1314-1325). The Kufic texts used as decoration
are either oracular or poetic.
The Patio de la Acequia leads to the Patio del Cipres de la Sultana,
and from there to the Escalera del Agua, the "Water Stair"
garden which is modelled on the Koran's description of paradise.
The original work of the Generalife dates from the thirteenth century:
The monument has undergone repeated renovations, from the time of
the reconquest through to the twentieth century. The Charles V Palace
provides an architectural response of a Renaissance monarch to the
needs of the modern state. The emperor decided to build the palace
upon his visit to Granada in 1526, on the occasion of his honeymoon.
In the building of the palace nothing of importance was destroyed
among the Arab constructions.
The main features of the palace are the circular courtyard with a
double gallery of Tuscan columns, the plainest of the classical orders,
and the front, with two very clearly differentiated parts: the lower
tier, which is more static, employing somewhat rough stonework; and
the upper tier, which is much more dynamic due to the verticality
of the Ionic pilasters. The various relief works on the main front
recount battles by the emperor and by Hercules, the classical god
with whom courtiers compared their monarch. Due to the simplicity
of its decoration, it is purist in style, something hard to find in
Spain. It was designed and produced by Pedro Machuca, the Italian-trained
artist. The palace is home to the Fine Arts Museum; the most valuable
collection housed here is of Granada artwork.
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